Well,
I lost my heart in Knoxville town
to a no -good river rat
Found out pretty early on
she was never where she's at
Well, the good times rolled till the day
I told her I was one and born
Come to find, boy, she's the kind
that won't hide to the shore
She took the Tennessee River
She took the Tennessee River
She took the Tennessee River
Down to Chattanooga,
on into Caribbean
Then the Ohio through
to catch the Mississippi
Better ride it down to New Or
leans
Heard she was singin' in a honky -tonk
Right about the Georgia line
So I led out on the southern route,
I couldn't get there in time
I talked to a man in Alabama,
he gave me a little hope
He said, I know the one,
but I'm sorry son,
you just missed the boat
She took the Tennessee River,
she took the Tennessee River
She took the Tennessee River
Down to Chattanooga
On to Cablebrook
In the Ohio River
To catch the Mississippi
And ride it down to New
Orleans
Now I've made it to Kentucky,
boys, I feel like I could die
From where I stand I can see her hand
waving me goodbye
She's on the deck of
a big star wheeler,
stacks of gold and coal
I won't give in if I have to swim
to the Gulf of Mexico
She took the Tennessee River,
she took the Tennessee River
She took the Tennessee River
down to Chattanooga, on into Caribou
In the old highway through
to catch the Mississippi
To
And ride it down to New Or leans
To catch the Mississippi
And ride it down to New Or leans